Thoughts/Reviews on Holyoke Midwives?

[butterflie2484]

So I am in my second trimester and I am going to Holyoke midwifrey. I have just started to meet the different midwives and besides Anne, who is just an appointment midwife (she doesnt actually attend births) and who seemed nice and Vanessa who I met at another appointment I am a little disappointed. Vanessa seemed like a control freak/know it all/busybody. I do not want that while I am laboring. When I had my first child I had an obgyn and he didnt even come into the room until the babys head came out (which is what I want). I dont want to be bothered. I just want to give birth without a control freak/someone getting their fingers up my whoha. My first pregnancy with the obgyn was great and he followed my birth plan 95% of the time. The nurses who assisted me were great except one, but Im not going to dwell on that. Anyhow, I thought I would try the midwives this time around and then I went to have an appt with Vanessa and she just did not rub me the right way. What midwives do you think are the best? If not, I will switch to an obgyn again or do a homebirth with a home midwife. If you have gone to Holyoke Midwives of Holyoke, which one treated you with the most respect and compassion. Which one respected your outside the box birth plan?  And which ones gave you the freedom to birth freely. Thanks!

[Ashtangamama]

I have seen the Holyoke Midwives. I have seen Ginny Miller (though just for a regular well visit) and I believe she is the most 'out of the box' of the practice. A nurse who gave me a tour, said that Ginny sometimes makes it harder for the nurses to do their jobs because she protects the birth space so much. I don't have experience birthing with her though (I used the practice for back up care for my homebirth, but I didn't need to transfer). The midwives do work on a rotation though, so whoever is on call when you go in to labor is who would be your care provider that day.

[butterflie2484]

Hi! And thanks for the response! I am looking into a homebirth also but going to the midwives as a backup just in case. Thats the one thing I dont like about the midwives (the rotations). Its a bit frustrating. Thank you for your reply. :) I also heard great things from her.
 

[mamaluvs]

Congrats on the pregnancy!  Just wanted to say that I used the Holyoke Midwives for two of my births and I had fantastic experiences both times.  Nina delivered one baby and Mary delivered another.  I also thought the staff at Holyoke was awesome.  I totally felt supported in all my choices and would have no hesitation in seeing the midwives again.

[sassyfirechick]

I didn't go through Holyoke but wanted to chip in on the rotation aspect.  The practice I went to has 3 MW's - 2 I absolutely loved during my prenatal visits, and one, DH and I just didn't mesh with.  She was nice, older, but not what we were looking for.  I tried each of them out during my prenatal care at the advice of the staff because of the rotation and was told better to meet them before than during labor!  I'm glad I did.  We had the MW who I saw for most of my 3rd tri for the birth and she was great.  It was a long labor and when she was leaving, the MW we didn't see after the one visit came in just to say hi and see how things went.  And on discharge day the 3rd MW who we also loved came over to the postpartum side to see the baby.  So it was definitely worth it for us to develop a relationship with each of them beforehand and we were comfortable knowing whoever we ended up with at the birth would respect our wishes.

[DoulaMarissa]

I have worked with Mary and Rachel and Dr. Loebel at Holyoke Midwifery and have good things to say. I even saw vaginal twins (baby B breech) delivered there - on the floor of the LDRP room! Pretty unusual. I didn't deliver my own children there, but I would be glad to tell you what I know of them from working there with doula clients. I sent you a message too. Good luck!
 

[rml1107]

Hi There!

     I have to say, I wasn't overly impressed with Holyoke Midwives either, during my office visits. They never got me in on time and never seemed too thorough. Even though we were supposed to get a different midwife at each appointment so we had an opportunity to meet them all ahead of time, we kept getting Anne for some reason. She was my least favorite as I felt she had an odd way about her and always acted like I was scared or insecure since it was my first baby. By the time I delivered, I had met them all at least once, except for Mary. When it came time for my actual labor though, which was at Holyoke Medical Center, I had a great experience. I had Nina for the birth and she was great. They were completely accomodating to my needs. I was able to spend some time in the tub like I had wanted and had a completely natural birth. From start to finish it was four and a half hours long and I feel very blessed, because again, this was my first child. Because it went so well and I'm much more comfortable with the process now, I do plan to have a homebirth with the next child. My daughter was born back in December of 2011. She is now a healthy, busy and happy 27 pound, ten month old. Mary did my follow up appointment and was very pleasant. My friend also had Ginny for her delivery and was very happy with her. I hope this helps some!

[here we are]

Bump. I am trying to decide about the holyoke birthing center, with appointments in northampton , vs Pioneer Womens Health in Greenfield. I hope i can find enough good things about holyoke so i dont waste so much time and gas money going to PWH.

[DoulaMarissa]

Hi there,

I would be more than happy to talk with you, having attended many births at all three hospitals with their midwives. Feel free to give me a call at 413-522-3949 anytime after tomorrow My name is Marissa.